Delawareans can expect another punishing day of snowfall that should start Sunday night and increase in intensity Monday, dropping 8 to 10 inches on most of the state, forecasters said Sunday afternoon.

"It looks like some rain mixing with snow Sunday night and then Monday morning it becomes all snow,'' National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Gorse said.

A winter storm warning has been issued from 9 p.m. Sunday through 4 p.m. Monday for New Castle and Kent counties and from 1 a.m. Monday until 6 that night for inland Sussex.

All state offices will be closed Monday, and Newark has declared that snow emergency routes will be activated at 9 p.m. Sunday, officials announced. Newark residents affected by the snow emergency routes may park in the University of Delaware's Trabant University Center garage for free. Cars must be removed from there by noon on Tuesday.

Sunday evening, Wilmington Mayor Dennis P. Williams said in a release that the city would be closed on Monday. Only essential personnel must report.

Following suit, New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon also announced that county offices will be closed on Monday. Only essential personnel, including county police officers, 911 call center operators and paramedics, must report.

The governor issued a state of emergency with a Level 1 driving warning starting at midnight.

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Gov. Jack Markell address the media at DelDOT's Talley Road Yard to provide an update on the pending winter storm and issues a state of emergency.(Photo: SUCHAT PEDERSON/THE NEWS JOURNAL)

Visibility could drop to a quarter mile or less on Monday, with winds gusting up to 25-30 mph. Near-record cold is possible after the storm moves out that night, with temperatures only topping out around 5 to 15 degrees.

DelDOT spokesman James Westhoff says all crews will report at 8 p.m. Sunday in New Castle County and at midnight in Kent County. He says three managers will report at 1 a.m. Monday in Sussex County and will call in personnel as needed.

More than 450 pieces of equipment will be on the roads statewide, though Westhoff warns that if snow falls at a rate of 1-2 inches per hour, it will be hard for crews to stay ahead of the accumulation on primary roads, so secondary roads may not be plowed until the snow stops.

Amtrak has announced it will operate a modified schedule on Monday. Passengers on the Acela Express, Northeast Regional and Keystone Service (Harrisburg – Philadelphia – New York City) trains should expect reduced frequencies.

If this storm comes anywhere close to predictions, this winter will officially become the Wilmington area's second snowiest since statistics began in the late 1800s.

The current total for 2013-14 is 48.4 inches at New Castle Airport. If only two inches fall, this season will surpass 1906-07, with 48.8, and 1957-58, with 49.5 inches. The record is the 72.8 inches that fell just four years ago, in 2009-2010.

Sunday's temperatures will be in the low 40s and rain is expected to begin falling about 5 p.m. It will turn to freezing rain or sleet and then to snow as the temperature drops to about 20 degrees, Gorse said.

By daybreak, Monday, the snow could be 3 inches high in the Wilmington area, with heavy snow and accumulation expected throughout the day, with winds up to 16 mph and temperatures stuck in the mid-20s, nearly 20 degrees below normal for early March.

The National Weather Service released an updated snow total map around 4:20 p.m. Sunday calling for 8 to 10 inches of snow for most of the state, with the exception of northern New Castle County and the southeastern tip of Sussex County, where 6 to 8 inches is predicted.

On Saturday, forecasters had predicted 8 to 10 inches for northern New Castle and Sussex counties, with 10 to 14 inches predicted for southern New Castle County and Kent County.

"That is huge,'' Gorse said.

So is that it for this wet and unrelenting winter, which still has a few weeks to go?

"Probably not,'' Gorse said.

"There's another potential storm next Friday There's a lot of variability with some of the computer models, but they are showing some kind of coastal storm, possibly rain or snow depending on the track. But we're still trying to figure this one out.''